All participants in the study wore biometric belts that monitored their physical responses as they used media throughout more than 300 hours’ worth of nonworking time. They also wore glasses with embedded cameras that kept track of what platform they used, and for how long.

Though hardly definitive, the research paints a worrisome picture for marketers in a world where consumers turn from screen to screen in search of something that captures and retains their attention, yet often cannot find it.

“What they are looking for is engaging content, and they dismiss so much stuff,” said Dan Albert, senior VP-media director at Chicago’s MARC USA agency.

One advertising exec says the industry is going to have change its messaging to “snack sized bits.”

“I’d be most alarmed about the challenging act of capturing the attention and emotional response of my target audience, because it’s almost like going from shooting fish in a barrel to little minnows,” study firm CEO Carl Marci concluded. “The target has become faster, and the window of opportunity for capturing them has become smaller.”

About the blogger

Bob Collins has been with Minnesota Public Radio since 1992, emigrating to Minnesota from Massachusetts where he was VP of programming for Berkshire Broadcasting Co. He was an editor at the RKO Radio Network in New York, and WHDH Radio in Boston. He is the founder of the MPR News’ website. He is a private pilot and flies an airplane he built.